Here’s The ‘Most Dangerous City’ In Maryland

Baltimore has been dubbed the “most dangerous city” in Maryland. That’s according to the financial news and opinion site 24/7 Wall St., which dug into FBI data from 2017 to determine violent crime rates in nearly 2,000 cities and towns.

Here’s what the analysis revealed about Baltimore:

• Violent crimes in 2017: 12,430 (41.1 percent of state total, which is 30,273)
• Violent crimes per 100,000 residents: 2,027 (state: 500)
• Poverty rate: 22.4 percent (state: 9.7 percent)
• Annual unemployment: 5.7 percent (state: 3.9 percent)

In 2017, the FBI estimated there were more than 1.2 million violent crimes nationwide, which was down 0.2 percent from 2016. The estimated 382.9 violent crimes per 100,000 inhabitants in 2017 also reflected a 0.9 percent drop in the violent crime rate from the previous year.

When considering five-year trends, the 2017 estimate of total violent crimes in the U.S. is actually 6.8 percent higher than 2013, according to the FBI. Despite the increase, it was 10.6 percent lower than 2008.

This is what 24/7 Wall St. had to say about Charm City:

Baltimore is by far the most dangerous city in Maryland. Baltimore is also the most populous city in the state, and 41.1% of all violent crimes reported in Maryland in 2017 were committed in the city. The city’s violent crime rate of 2,027 incidents per 100,000 people is more than double the rate of 971 per 100,000 in Salisbury, the second most dangerous city in the state.

Homicide is a particularly glaring problem in Baltimore. Though Baltimore does not even rank among the 25 largest U.S. cities by population, it reported 342 murders in 2017, the most of any city after Chicago. For reference, New York, a city home to 14 times as many people as Baltimore, reported 292 murders in 2017.

Murders in 2018 actually went down in Baltimore; the city recorded 309 homicides in 2018, according to the Baltimore Police Department, the lowest in years — down from 342 in 2017, 318 in 2016, 342 in 2015 and 311 in 2014.

The 24/7 Wall St. rankings limited the study to cities with populations of at least 20,000. The authors noted that crime happens more often in low-income areas with fewer economic opportunities.

“The vast majority of cities on this list have higher poverty and unemployment rates than the state as a whole,” the report said.

Violent crimes include murder, non-negligent manslaughter, rape, robbery and aggravated assault. Most states contain at least one city that has a higher violent crime rate than the country as a whole. Exceptions include Hawaii, Maine and Vermont.

• Baltimore Is America's Most Dangerous City: USA Today
• Murder Capitals Of America: Baltimore On The List

Most of the cities on the list saw violent crime rates in the hundreds or mid-1000s. But some stuck out. Anniston, Alabama, for example, sees an inordinately high rate of violent crime at 3,434 per 100,000 people. That’s the highest rate in the state or any major American city “by far,” the authors wrote.

A large share of residents in Anniston are financially insecure with 20 percent of the city’s 22,000 residents living below the poverty line. The national rate is 14.6 percent.

Patch national staffer Dan Hampton contributed to this report.